May 6, 2021
Covid-19 variant traced in Sukawati, Gianyar + Hundreds of homecoming travelers found without negative test results + Hazardous waste processing plant rejected by Jembrana regent + more!
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*Note: New Covid-19 cases in Bali dropped today (128) after yesterday's 150, bringing the 7-day average down to 126. On this day last month it was 185. Recoveries (104) also dropped after yesterday's 124. Fatalities edged down slightly to 7.
Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers.
The Big News
"Health Office and Ministry of Health Trace New Variant of the Covid-19 Virus in Sukawati, Gianyar" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Two new variants of the Covid-19 virus [UK variant B117 and South African variant B1351] have entered Bali. The Gianyar Regency Health Office and the Ministry of Health have also detected the new variant in Gianyar. He said that the investigation took place last Monday (3/3) in one of the areas in Sukawati District. He was reluctant to explain in more detail where and what kind of searches were carried out by Ministry officials in the Sukawati District area. "Sorry it can't be published, so as not to cause unrest in the community," he added.
Context: It was not mentioned in the article whether it is the UK variant or South African variant that is being traced in Sukawati, which is about ten km south of Ubud. Yesterday we included this story about the foreigner who brought the South African variant to Bali, and passed away in mid-February. On Monday Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said authorities had detected two cases of the Indian variant B1617, a single case of the South African variant B1351, and three new cases of the UK variant B117, bringing Indonesia’s total caseload of UK variants to 13. Ministerial spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said that one of the two Indian variant cases was a health worker who had exposure to foreign patients.
"Police Net Hundreds of Homecomers Without Antigen Certificates in Bali" from CNN Indonesia (Indonesian): The Badung Traffic Police, Bali Province, found hundreds of passengers going home to Java without an antigen rapid test certificate when departing from Mengwi Terminal. On Tuesday the passengers who were already on the bus were asked to show results of the Covid-19 antigen or PCR tests, but no passengers brought them so they were not allowed to leave," said Head of the Badung Police AKP Aan Saputra. He said passengers who did not bring a certificate of the antigen rapid test were immediately recorded. Then, the police coordinated with the Mengwi Community Health Center to provide an antigen rapid test facility. After undergoing the test the passengers were allowed to travel.
"Residents Support Regent's Decree to Postpone Hazardous Waste Processing Plant" from Radar Bali
(Indonesian): Residents of Pengambengan Village who refused a B3 [hazardous and toxic waste] treatment plant, respect the decision of the Regent of Jembrana I Nengah Tamba, who requests that no construction activity be carried out in the proposed location for the plant. The waste company was also asked to respect the district head's decision so as not to provoke an unfavorable situation in Jembrana. According to Adi, one of the residents of Pengambengan Village who rejected the waste processing facility, if the company does not respect the regent's decision, the residents will ask the regent to take firm action because they consider it a form of violation. "If the company continues its development activities, the residents will not be silent."
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Other Headlines
"Stations, Airport, Toll Roads Packed as Jakartans Pour Out of City Ahead of Mudik Ban" from Coconuts Jakarta: Thousands of Jakartans raced to beat the mudik ban before it came into effect today, inundating the capital’s travel hubs. For mudik via rail, officials reported 15,000 departures from Jakarta’s two main train stations — Senen and Gambir — exceeding both stations’ 70% capacity limit. The Soekarno-Hatta Airport is reportedly seeing larger-than-normal crowds. The Jakarta-Cikampek toll road saw increased traffic of vehicles leaving Jakarta this morning. By the government’s estimate, around 18 million Indonesians are expected to go on mudik this year, which translates to roughly 7% of the total population. Without the ban, the National Police said 81 million Indonesians would have gone on mudik this year. People who insist on defying the ban will be told to turn back without any sanctions. COVID-19 Task Force chief Doni Monardo previously said Indonesia may see a 93% surge in cases nationally if authorities were as relaxed in enforcing the mudik ban as last year.
Context: In Bali, 23,636 people left via Ngurah Rai Airport from May 1-4; up until yesterday 5,682 left by bus via the Mengwi Terminal; and 68,792 left via Gilimanuk Port from May 1-4; and there has been an increase in passengers at Padang Bai Port. Traffic Police have established 381 points to turn back homecoming traffic across the country, with seven of them in Bali.
Vaccination Update
Nation: "8,151,942 Residents Have Received the Complete Dose of the Vaccine" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Covid-19 Vaccination Continues to Be Encouraged, Buleleng Returns to Enter the Red Zone" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Jembrana: "Once Postponed, Jembrana Speeds Up Vaccines for Workers" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "After Entering the Red Zone, Residents of Three Sub-districts in Karangasem Were Mass Vaccinated Against Covid-19" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "Green Zone Target, Mass Vaccination in Nusa Penida Starting May 5" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Tabanan: "Facing the New Covid-19 Variant, Tabanan Accelerate Vaccinations and Supervise Health Centers" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Patrols
"26 Foreigners Caught Without Masks" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): A total of 39 people were caught in the health protocol raids (Prokes) which were held by joint officers from the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) of Badung Regency and TNI-Polri in front of Pepito Canggu, North Kuta District, Badung on Tuesday morning. Sadly, from the total number of people who were netted, 26 of them were foreigners. "Foreigners without masks are immediately fined. For those who do not use them properly, such as masks worn on the chin, they receive direct physical sanctions such as push-ups," he said. In addition to raids in the Canggu area, North Kuta District, his party will also target a number of points where there is a lot of activity or mobility of people and foreigners. This effort is to ensure that the implementation of health protocols is in accordance with what the government expects. "We are also targeting other points, including in Kuta and South Kuta."
More...
Denpasar: "The Yustisi Denpasar Team Caught 20 People Who Broke Health Protocols" from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
"Speeding Up Toll Road Megaproject in Bali, PUPRKIM Office Holds Coordination Meetings with 6 Regencies/Cities" from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): Interestingly, the meeting reportedly discussed not only the Gilimanuk-Mengwi Toll Road project but also the toll road that is planned to 'cover' parts of the island of Bali. The Head of the Bali PUPRKIM Office (Public Works, Spatial Planning, Housing and Residential Areas), Nusakti Yasa Weda, said that the meeting was held as part of the coordination of the project's feasibility study (FS). He said his party involved six heads of district/city PUPR offices namely Denpasar City, Gianyar Regency, Badung, Tabanan, Buleleng and Jembrana because the megaproject plan would cross the six regions. His party also brought in from the central government those in charge of roads and bridges, the Transportation Office, and the Bali Province Forestry and Environment Office.
"Bali Economy Quarter I 2021 Minus, Only This Sector is Growing" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): The information and communications sector, as well as the health services sector and social services, are the groups that are still able to grow in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year. The information and communication category grew by 4.99% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year, while health services and social activities increased by 0.31%. Head of the Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Hanif Yahya, said that this sector is supported by the increasing demand for telecommunications services and medical services. Meanwhile, growth in the category of health services and social activities was influenced by high government spending for health, which has increased in the context of handling Covid-19 and vaccinations. In addition, the continued payment of additional incentives for health workers who treat Covid-19 patients also encourages an increase in yoy gross added value in this category.
"The Agricultural Sector in Bali is Starting to Recover" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian): The Farmers Exchange Rate Index in April 2021 was recorded at 92.12, an increase of 0.72% compared to the previous month. Economic Observer from Bank Indonesia Bali Representative Office M. Setyawan Santoso said that this shows the agricultural sector is starting to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic. "Even though it is starting to recover, the welfare level of farmers is still lower compared to the conditions before the pandemic in 2019. However, compared to 2020, this sector has started to show better conditions." Based on data from the Bali Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the increase in the NTP index in April 2021 was recorded in almost all sub-sectors. Only the food crop sub-sector fell 2.75%. The subsector with the highest increase was horticulture with 2.67%; followed by smallholder plantations with 2.28%; fisheries with 2.15%; and livestock with 2.11%.
More...
Nation: "Open Unemployment Rate Slides to 6.26% in February" from Antara
Nation: "The Contribution of MSMEs to GDP is 61.07%" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Province: "The Working Age Population in Bali Increases, But the Workforce Declines" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Preventing the Change of Land Functions, Balinese Farmers Ask for Certainty of Water Availability" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Tabanan: "Deputy Regent Edi Wirawan Appreciates the Mutual Cooperation of the Residents to Build a Connecting Road in Pupuan" from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian)
Education
Jembrana: "PTM in Jembrana Begins, It Can Be Stopped if a Case at School is Found" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
"Russian Woman Who Donned Face Paint for Mask Set for Deportation" from Coconuts Bali: Bali Governor Wayan Koster emphasized that officials will not tolerate violations of health protocols in the province, as he announced the imminent deportation of the Russian woman whose face paint mask prank drew massive backlash across Indonesia in recent weeks. The woman, identified as Se Leia AKA Lisha, will be flying to Jakarta, followed with a journey to Moscow scheduled for 12:40am Thursday. Immigration authorities have deemed Lisha guilty of violating a gubernatorial regulation mandating mask use in public. As Indonesia’s immigration laws subject foreign nationals to comply with local regulations, such violations mean they can be deported from the country.
"French Businessman Faces 20 Years Imprisonment Over Narcotics and Illegal Weapons" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The French businessman faces up to 20 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine and three illegal firearms along with 29 rounds of ammunition. The defendant was arrested by members of the Bali Police on March 21, 2021 in Kerobokan Kelod, North Kuta, Badung. The defendant and his legal advisor had no intention of filing an exception or objection.
Of Interest
"Sandiaga Uno Prepares Intellectual Property to Become Credit Collateral" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
"Restaurants in Nusa Dua Burned, Losses Reached Billions of Rupiah" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"Elderly Italian Man Stranded in Bali Due to Covid-19 Pandemic Taken to Immigration" from Coconuts Bali
How You Can Help
In response to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali and the resulting economic crisis, dozens of individuals and organizations have sprung into action, raising funds and distributing badly needed food and everyday essentials to the innumerable families who have suddenly found themselves without any source of income. We've been making an effort to document and raise awareness of these efforts. We will add information on projects in this space as we are able to confirm them. If you'd like to see a list of the efforts that we've featured so far and contribute to them with either time or money, visit our complete list here. You can also see a list of projects that have registered themselves at BaliSolidarity.org. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global.
About This Newsletter
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